Al's Dodge
The only car to stay with him through thick and thin, mostly thin, is Al's utterly unreliable 1971(sometimes a 1973) Dodge, the only car he can afford and the automotive equivalent of Peg. The car consistently lets him down at vital moments, and he seems to spend almost as much time pushing as driving it, but Al has a stubborn loyalty to the vehicle, and, in season eleven's Requiem For a Chevyweight, Part I and its sequel, he spends a great amount of time, money and energy trying to keep his "baby" going. History In Requiem For a Chevyweight (Part I), Al bought it at some point while in high school (though Al was in high school during the mid to late 1960s and the car is from the early 1970s) from a used car lot on Route 12 . He was paying for it by working at the shoe store during the summer. Al's father seems to think that the car is a lemon and that Al is a fool for buying it, but works on it anyway, so Al can go to the Rolling Stone's farewell concert with his new girlfriend, Peggy Wanker. In the same episode, he is shown to still have the car on the day he scored four touchdowns in a single game and is still with Peggy, which leads to them accidentally conceiving Kelly that same night (though her birth year is listed as 1971, while Al's four touchdowns happened in 1966). Peggy had also confirmed previously that Kelly was conceived in the car in Old Insurance Dodge At least one of Al's old girlfriends was also familiar with Al's Dodge. Sandy Jorgenson, Al's cheerleader girlfriend who received the football he scored his four touchdowns with, remembered that Al was working at the shoe store as a summer job and he was working there to replace the carburetor. Although Peg had her own car during the early seasons, Al's Dodge has served as the vehicle for entire family, often leaving Al as having to ask the kids or Peg to pick him up from the shoe store (which usually falls on deaf ears, leaving Al to hitch hike home) or serve as a chauffeur. Peg and the rest of the family hate the Dodge and prefer not to ride in it. Bud happily mocks Al after his Dodge is stolen, saying "I was said when I had no Dodge, until I saw the man who had one". While looking at the 1994 Dodge Viper, Al calls out Peg in front of the Dodge staff, claiming that she truly hates Dodge. She tries to play it off as merely a joke. He continues on, saying that she got him a license plate frame that reads "I'd rather be driving" and then says "You laughed at the Dodge. You mocked the Dodge. She shot the Dodge, but she didn't shoot the deputy." Al also feels that the police do not care about his car whenever it is stolen or vandalized. By the same token, the Dodge has been used in attempts to escape the police, though usually unsuccessfully. After Al tries to see how much the insurance is willing to offer after his car stolen, the insurance company offers only $50, most of it from Al's mental anguish. Details In "Get Outta Dodge", Bud tells his date that the Dodge is actually a "Dodge-enstein" and is made "from the parts of other dead Dodges". Throughout most of the early seasons, Al's Dodge is shown to be blue. From season 1 until season 4's "Oh What a Feeling", the car appears to be a metallic blue with a white racing stripe and a "Gold Duster" badge near the front wheels. At the end of "Oh What a Feeling", he traded in his blue Dodge for a bronze color model. This would be the color for the next few seasons whenever the Dodge is shown. It has the license plate "2 RPH 72" In season 9's "Get the Dodge Outta Hell", after the car is washed, it is now red and Al claims that his Dodge was actually red when he bought it. Though, when the trunk is opened for Al to get his Big 'Uns, it is obvious that the inside was actually bronze and parts of the trunk hinges go from red to bronze paint. This color would be seen on the Dodge for the remainder of the series, such as in season 11's Requiem For a Chevyweight (Part I) and Breaking Up Is Easy to Do (Part 3) . It has the license plate "61 CMS 2" In No Chicken, No Check and Get the Dodge Outta Hell, Al's car key is shown to be a screwdriver. The cars used to represent the Dodge in most early seasons is a Blue 1973-1974 Plymouth Duster, then a Bronze 1971-1972 Plymouth Gold Duster, and at last a Red 1972 Plymouth Duster. Some episodes it is shown to be a manual transmission.(Push starts) Al's Dodge is shown to have a V8 engine most likely a 318 Chrysler Small Block since its a non performance Plymouth Duster. In the episode season 4 episode 9 (Oh what a Feeling) Al trades his original High school Dodge for a ride to the dealership and later purchases another Dodge that has 18 miles on it. Yet in later season this car is still said to be the 1st Dodge. Which means by the episode (Get Outta Dodge) in Season 8 the Bundys would have driven 250,000 miles a year, which is quite an amazing task since the Dodge is shown to be so unreliable. Known issues with Al's Dodge *Busted taillight - Born to Walk *No brakes - Christmas *Engine caught on fire during the tailgate at the Chicago Bears Championship game - Requiem For a Chevyweight (Part I) *Brake failure that caused the car to go into the lake during Christmas - Requiem For a Chevyweight (Part I) *Fuel Pump dies - Requiem For a Chevyweight (Part I) *Right headlight fell out (and reattached with a "Buy American" bumper sticker) - The Gas Station Show *Fan belt was replaced with Peggy's favorite pair of black nylon stockings - The Gas Station Show *Uses a rag as a gas tank cap. - The Gas Station Show *Engine fell out after being stolen - Old Insurance Dodge *Gun shot hole in the gas tank. *No radio, Al removed his radio to put in Pegs car - Sixteen Years and What Do You Get? Gallery Untitled 7.png|Al's blue Dodge with the racing stripe and "Gold Duster" badge by the front wheel during season 4 Bundy.jpg|Al's bronze Dodge after trading in the blue Dodge dodge 6.png|The Bundy's having to push the Dodge in season 6 dodge 3.png|Al's bronze Dodge seen in Burnt Scrotum, New Mexico in season 8 as he tries to bring the odometer back to 1 million dodge engine.png|Part of the bronze dodge's engine as seen in "The Gas Station Show" dodge 2.png|Al's red Dodge that emerged from the car wash in season 9 dodge 7.png|The trunk of the red Dodge with the noticable bronze color inside dodge 7a.png|Al's red Dodge, the night he scored 4 touchdowns and Kelly was conceived dodge 5.png|Al and Peg in the red Dodge in season 11 Category:Key Items Category:Al Bundy Category:Vehicles